An Eulogy To A Great Man
by Eternalscibe41
Summary: When Harry Potter dies at the young age of 32, the people of Magical Britain gather together to commemorate his life and death. This is the eulogy one such person gives.


Disclaimer: I do not now nor have I ever owned Harry Potter. It belongs to JK Rowling.

An Eulogy To Harry Potter

In a small church in Northern England, a group had gathered to commemorate the life of the recently deceased Harry Potter. One relatively nondescript teenage boy strode out of the pews and walked up to the podium, past the urn that contained the ashes of Harry Potter. He stood behind the podium and began to speak.

"So far, many people have spoken, more than I care to count. Without fail, every one of them spoke of his feats and what he did in his life. I was not alive when many of them occurred, and so instead I shall talk to you about who Harry Potter was and what kind of person he was. I shall tell you of the man who raised me, when my parents died.

Harry Potter was, undoubtedly, a great man, and he shall be remembered as such. He wasn't the greatest warrior of his time, not someone in whom the spirit of Achilles resided, for he did not live to fight as Achilles did, nor even fight to live as many do. He fought so that others could live, and so that others could have freedom. He fought for the day when we did not need to fight. Everyday of his life, from the beginning to the end, he fought fear and oppression. This endless struggle set him free from earthly matters, and let him see so much that we could not. He was the freest man I ever knew, and we loved him for it.

He wasn't a poet, or an artist, no plays did he write, no sculptures did he make nor works of art his hands create. He wrote no great symphonies, his fingers never glided effortlessly across the keys of a piano, nor have any great familiarity with the strings of a guitar. He was no Shakespeare, for no children will have learn nor debate about his works.

He wasn't even the most intelligent man in the world, he wasn't someone who could explain how a muggle TV worked, or how plants gained energy, nor could he say which was better, antinomianism or categorical imperatives. He learned what he needed to, so that he could help others. He did not gather knowledge for knowledge's sake, that was the height of selfishness for him. He lived by the adage, "Only a life spent helping others, is worth living."

He was hot-headed, he had a ferocious temper, he leapt before he looked, and was somewhat naïve at times, a bit too idealistic for many. He couldn't be described as an Adonis look-alike, nor was he the Beethoven of magic, but he stood apart from the crowd. Wherever he was, people took note of him, they felt his presence when he entered a room, they whispered about the walking legend when he passed. He was one of those rare men who could dominate a room wearing rags, and he did so in his younger years. Where angels feared to tread, Harry Potter rushed. When he saw those who were shunned by others, he went out of his way to befriend them. Muggleborn, Pureblood, House-elf, Half-giant, werewolf, he collected an odd assortment of friends and he treated them as equals. They loved him for it.

Despite his flaws and his shortcomings, Harry Potter shall be remembered for centuries, millennia even. People will speak his name in the same breath as Merlin, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Why though? Why will he be remembered above all others who fought in the final battle at Hogwarts, above even the Ministry 6 and even Ron and Hermione Weasley? The answer is simple. He always lead them. You do not remember the soldiers, but the general. Harry Potter will always be remembered as the man who fought the greatest Dark Lord to have ever walked the earth more times than any other, and as the man who defeated that Dark Lord. He will be remembered as the Basilisk slayer, as the bane of dragons and dementors. Men with great visions are always remembered. Alexander the Great is remembered as quite possibly the greatest military commander to have ever lived, but he is only remembered because of his vision of a united world which drove him to conquer land after land. Harry Potter will be remembered for his many feats, but he will be remembered because of his vision of a united magical world in which no one had to fight. His drive and passion inspired others to fight for him, and they loved him for he expected no more of them, than what he was willing to do.

Harry Potter was an incredible man for he firmly believed that the only failure was the staying down, not the falling down., and what few things he did that can be counted a failure, such as failing to save his godfather where he was able to lead his friends against more numerous and greater trained enemies, were brilliant. His failures towered over other people's successes.

Now this great man lies dead, and we mourn. However, do we mourn his passing or do we mourn because we are saddened at this brutal reminder of human mortality? Is death feared because it separates us from our loved ones, or because it is the ending of our journey? All men die, that is a simple statement but one few people can accept. We are caught up in this world, in what we possess and in the happiness of those closest to us, but never caring for those we haven't met, the stranger or the beggars we shy away from in the street. Harry Potter was unique in that he did not care for material possessions, nor did he fear death, in fact he faced it willingly so that others could be happy. He cared as much for the beggar on the street as he did his closest companions.

All men are born, but none can choose where they are born, or when, or why, or how, or even who they are born to. All men die, but few are able to do so on their terms, few are able to die for their cause and few able to end their suffering before it overcomes them. All men are alive at some point, and this is what every man has a say over. We can choose how we live, we can choose who we live for, we can move to foreign lands and we can change ourselves into who we want to be. All men are alive, but few truly live. Harry Potter was young, a mere 32 years old, but he lived. He loved, he fought, he wept and he laughed, but more importantly, he showed us how to live with honour and dignity and pride.

Is death how Albus Dumbledore described it, is it simply the next great adventure? Is it the unveiling of a new country to explore, the removal of the mist and the withdrawal of the clouds to let us truly see the green pastures that surround us? I death the only reality, and what we call life only a dream from which we all must wake? Or is death a concept that, when accepted, allows us to truly enjoy life that little extra bit more? Harry Potter is about to find out, and something tells me that in the same way he accepted all that happened in life, he will accept what comes after death. Perhaps the most remarkable of Harry Potters feats was his ability to accept everything in life, but also to try and change what he disagreed with. Such was his ability to accept what happened in life, that he was able to die with the warriors prayer on his lips, "Yes." Acceptance of death is a remarkable thing. Harry Potter died before his time, but he was able to meet death with dignity. Most are dragged kicking and screaming from this world, but Harry, despite his youth, was able to maintain his dignity and pride until the end.

One thing I definitely know about Harry Potter is that he will meet what comes after death in the same way he meet life, wholeheartedly and giving his all in everything. In essence, that acceptance is Harry Potter. That is how to be truly great."

**Please review. I'm sorry to say that my laptop recently broke down and it will be quite some time until it's fixed. I'm only able to post this as I had it saved on my memory stick and I was able to use a friends computer for a bit, but he's going to Belgium tomorrow so I can't use it anymore. Please recommend this story to your friends, and be patient with my other stories, I can only access the internet at the moment using my phone. **


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